Flames Of The Heart
by SparrowOfTheBlock101
Summary: KHR influences. Sanji may not have had his genetics fully changed, but that didn't mean he didn't get something from his parents' genetic manipulations. Or, more importantly, his mother, Bohoja Sora. Third genre (uh, kinda, maybe?): Romance.
1. Prologue

_I_ _do not own One Piece nor do I own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I am merely playing with the characters and elements provided._

* * *

 _7-year-old Sanji curled up beside his mother, head pressed to her heart as she laid in the hospital bed, her light, warm hand rubbing up and down his back._

 _Sora hummed lightly. "My little prince," she said softly, making Sanji look up at her._

" _Yes, mama?" He blinked at her, two pairs of dark blue eyes catching each other._

" _I want to tell you something," she whispered, hand moving up to his hair. "It's very important, because I think you may be the only to access my genes."_

 _Sanji blinked up at her in confusion. "What?"_

 _The woman looked around carefully, eyes going distant. Sora blinked, eyes refocusing, and lifted her free right hand. Lips pursed as her eyes narrowed before a faint smile slid onto her face._

Fwiissh

" _Oh!" Sanji squeaked, recoiling into his mother. Blinking blue eyes, Sanji stared shamelessly at the roiling flames in her hand._

" _My family has always had the ability to call upon what we call Dying Will Flames. As a Bohoja (1), we have the ability to call upon six out of seven flames." Sora brought the hand closer. "See how the indigo is the biggest, with the blue a close second?"_

" _Mhmm…" The flames were hypnotizing, swirling carefully._

" _That means the indigo, which is Mist, is my primary flame. Blue is Rain, my secondary, both I can wield with ease and mist more so." She explained. "The others I can use but not as well."_

" _Mist? Rain?" Sanji managed to ask, tearing his eyes away from the flames for a moment. Just as quickly as he had, blue eyes went back._

 _Sora shifted, concentrating. The indigo flames took over the handful of fire. "Mist flames, to obscure your family from enemies."_

 _Blue flames. "Rain, to wash away any and all conflict."_

 _Red flames. "Storm, to have fierce energy that blasts away all that threatens your family."_

 _Yellow flames. "Sun, to provide help to those you love."_

 _Green flames. "Lightning, to take damage directed to your loved ones and keeping it in until there is a time you can release it all at once."_

 _Purple flames. "Cloud, to stay far away, but close enough to shield."_

 _She lowered her hand, letting the flames die away as she rested her eyes on her son. "Sanji-a, the seventh and final flame is rare. It's the orange flame. Sky, to provide a home, to take in the elements and bring harmony. The other elements gather beneath the sky. They protect, love, and care for their Sky in return for being given a place to come back home to."_

 _Sanji pouted slightly at the flames disappearance but looked at his mother, frowning slightly. "Mama, have you ever had a Sky?_

 _Sora smiled sadly. "No, I have never met anyone who would be able to even contain Sky flames. But I have a hope."_

 _His head tilted, brows furrowing._

 _Sora beamed at her son. "I have the hope that one day you'll find a Sky to call your own."_

* * *

 _After Sanji and his brothers turned eight, Sora died, and the guardian bond between them snapped. Sanji was lost and adrift; Sora had been the only thing tying him to his biological family._

 _He lost himself in reading his mother's books, learning the history of their people and more about the flames. He ignored his father's attempts to upset him with the training he was having the kids go through. After the death of his mother, Sanji refused to go through anything like that again. He forced himself to memorize the books, asking Eponi to help him remember specific quirks from the elements._

 _He didn't care for the training his father forced on him. He didn't care for his brothers bullying him. Not even Reiju's fixing his wounds bothered him. Only his mother's approval would be something he wanted, but would never get. And for all the approval he wished to get from his mother, Sanji knew he'd never be able to forgive them for letting Sora die._

 _When Judge had Germa 66 attack Cozia, Sanji fled, memories of flames floating in his head from his mother and forced memorization of weapon construction from Judge._

 _The time Sanji spent on the_ Orbit _was spent watching and helping the chefs, asking idle questions about places outside the North Blues as the ship made its way to the East Blue._

 _One time at port, when Sanji had been allowed to see the island, he first met the Whitebeard pirates, leaving him in fear, awe, and wonder..._

* * *

 _A man who looked like a stereotypical pirate brushed past Sanji. A shiver went up his spine and his breath caught in his chest. He jerked around and followed the man with his eyes, speechless. His center, where a book said his flames resided, screamed with revulsion and slight terror._

 _The man walked up to a man with a pompadour, two swords, and a chef's suit. They spoke for a moment, before the raven-haired man walked away. Sanji teetered for a moment before slipping closer and latching onto the man's leg (neither noticed the yellow flames sliding from Sanji and into the man)._

" _Oh?" The ginger looked down at him curiously. "What's a kid like you doing without his parents?"_

" _Don't trust him!" The blond blurted out._

 _The man stared at him in surprise before laughing and ruffling Sanji's hair. "Teach? He wouldn't hurt a brother! Just because he's scary-lookin' doesn't mean he isn't soft."_

 _His stomach dropped when he realized the man was speaking the truth, fully loyal to the bad man. Sanji grit his teeth and stomped hard on the man's foot, earning a yelp. "Just 'cuz he seems like a good guy doesn't mean he is!" Sanji snapped, stepping away. "Go ahead, don't believe Mr. Prince! But when something does happen, know he said, 'I told you so!'"_

 _Sanji spun on his, shooting away from the Whitebeard and back to the Orbit, frustration and worry coursing through him. He ignored the man's call, dodging around people. He brushed past a a man and child, never spotting yellow and indigo flames (faintly, Sanji heard a "Cora-san!" and wouldn't realize what happen till thirteen years later)._

 _His steps pounded on wood as he shot up the dock and gangplank._

" _Sanji?" One of the bartenders called out, surprised, but Sanji ignored him in favor of hunting down the captain. Spotting him in the galley, perusing the newspaper, Sanji popped up beside him, earning a weird look from the man._

" _Sanji-san?" The man asked, carefully holding the papers away from Sanji seeing as how he'd been eyeing it intensely._

" _Does that have bounties?" Sanji asked, still._

" _You want to see them?" At Sanji's nod, the man pulled out a bunch of papers and slid them over._

 _Sanji hopped up onto the bench and began going through them. Some were Whitebeard pirates (okay, maybe a lot of them were Whitebeards) and others were from other crews. The blond split them up like that, setting them up on either side of the main stack. He stopped when he saw the brunet from before. Ignoring the amount, Sanji focused on the man's name._

' _Dual Devil Thatch'_

'So he's a dual-sword user…' _Sanji scowled at the grin facing him and smacking it front first against the Whitebeard pile. "Shithead…" He mumbled._

" _You say somethin', lad?" The captain asked, peering over at him._

"' _S nothin', sir." Sanji said, offering him a small smile. The older male nodded before turning his focus back to the paper._

 _Sanji sweated slightly as he focused on the bounty posters._ 'Too close…'

 _The search continued until he finally found the face that unnerved him._

' _Marshall D. Teach'_

 _He didn't seem to have an epithet, Sanji noticed with a carefully blank face. Either way, Sanji knew who he would have to keep an eye on and an ear out for._

* * *

 _Two more years passed by, flying like a News Coo with a delivery._

 _Sanji ended up living with a former pirate, 'Red Leg' Zeff, and opened up a restaurant after a meeting with the_ Orbit _and the pirate's ship. In exchange, Zeff taught Sanji cooking and fighting (even giving tips on weapon handling when he saw Sanji handling a pistol). Best of all, they shared the dream of find the All Blue._

 _Of course, Sanji did not fully take to the man's chivalry lesson after reading his mother's diaries from her time as a training Bohoja. After learning what his mom could do with even the tiniest Cloud flames (her weakest flames), Sanji was in the firm belief that women could take care of themselves. He didn't let Zeff know this, though, not wanting another punishment after that one lecture. As the years passed, with pirates, Marines, and civilians coming through the Baratie, Sanji figured some women would need a man's help. In which, he acted like a total chivalrous man to make the women smile, sometimes even the men (ignoring the okamas that came through because that was another level Sanji refused to touch)._

 _And then, when Sanji was in his nineteenth year, a boy who looked younger than he really was broke a part of the Baratie._

* * *

Throughout the years, one line from the first chapter on flames had stuck to Sanji. He'd never thought he'd be able to feel the truth of the words, but now…

Now, seeing Akainu's veering away from Ace and heading to Luffy at a fast pace, faster than anyone realized, Sanji understood with perfect clarity.

Clarity that disappeared when Akainu's fist turned to magma and neared Luffy.

Sanji's eyes widened behind his mask, breath freezing in his chest before he _moved_ , all six flames leaking out and raging as he _**roared**_. "STAY AWAY FROM HANEUL!" (2)

 _In the case of a Sky ever being in severe, irreparable danger, the Bojoha will Rage, taking down anything in their way._

* * *

(1) Bohoja- Guardian in Korean (Google Translate)

(2) Haneul - Sky in Korean (GT)


	2. Baratie's Assistant Head Chef

Sanji smoothed his multi-colored hair, frowning into the mirror.

The waiters had bolted, seeing that the Baratie was a restaurant with fighting. All of them, leaving Sanji to be a waiter as he was Assistant Head Chef (plus the old man had told him to).

Rolling his eyes at the memory, Sanji tugged his cigarettes and lighter out-

 **BOOM**! _**C-crash**_!

The blond stopped and looked up, shifting his weight as the Baratie jolted. There were yells from overhead and screams from the customers. Sanji turned to stare at the door, tilting his head with an unlit cigarette lightly hanging from his lips. He squinted at the door, listening.

Faintly he could hear Patty and Carne yelling. Sanji straightened and smirked slightly as he lit his cigarette, exiting the bathroom.

' _Let the shitty geezer deal with it. Repair costs will come out of his pockets this time.'_

* * *

A bit later, Sanji was pouring wine for a Marine Lieutenant and his date. He got the feeling, from the man's air, that he was one of the more pompous Marines. Sanji went to collect their soup course, and made sure to zone out of the conversation between the couple, only becoming attentive when he heard Fullbody mention the wine.

Fullbody turned his eyes on Sanji, smirking cockily at the blond. "Am I right, waiter?"

Sanji ran the wine description in his hand before shaking his head. "Dead wrong, Monsieur. And I'm actually the Assistant Head Chef. The waiters left yesterday."

He slid the bowls from his hand and head respectively. "Your soup. Enjoy it while it's hot."

Tilting his head at the two, letting his eyes linger on the woman a moment, Sanji turned and headed back to the kitchen. He paused in the doorway, leaning against it.

"Oi, shitheads!"

"WHAT?" Came the roar from irate cooks. Sanji couldn't help the grin if he wanted to.

"Just wanted to give a heads up. We gotta pompous Marine out there," Sanji pulled his cigarette away, blowing out a ring of smoke. "Shithead wanted one of the fancier wines from the North."

Sal, one of the pantry chefs, whistled low. "Seriously? Ain't they one of the more expensive ones we got in stock?"

Sanji nodded, taking in a drag before releasing. The chefs shook their heads as they moved around the kitchen with ease, like a well practiced act. He glanced at the clock and straightened. "Hey, I'm gonna start my rounds, can one of you shitheads refill the pitchers?"

"Don't call us that!" More than half the kitchen snapped, aiming glares at him.

Sanji waved a hand idly at them. "I'll take that as a yes."

Sidestepping a tossed sponge, he smacked it back with a sharp slap. He earned a yelp as a reward. Smirking, Sanji left the kitchen, leaving the cooks grumbling. Sanji began his rounds, deciding to start away from the Marine. For all that the woman he was with was lovely, he didn't want to get caught in any Government bullshit.

He spoke with the customers, flirting casually with either half of a couple, earning laughter. Currently, Sanji was speaking cheekily with an older, regular couple that always came on Thursdays.

"Hah!" The older man barked, grinning as he set his wineglass back down. "I can't believe you got stuck acting as a waiter."

"Oh, I don't know, Obi. He certainly dresses the part a bit." His wife chuckled.

Sanji held a hand to his chest, feigning hurt. "Why, Madam Vivian! I'm hurt, I thought you found my ties charming!"

The two laughed, Obi opening his mouth to say something when there was a loud, "Waiter!"

His brow twitched and he glanced over at the Marine. Sanji looked back at the couple, who gave him knowing looks. "It's alright, love," Vivian said, patting his hand.

"Go ahead and deal with the ass. Just make sure to handle the lady with care, she seems to only care about Fullbody." Obi said, waving Sanji away.

The blond nodded and he headed over to the Marine. He cast a look at the man. "I've told you before I'm not a waiter."

He gave a closer look at the woman, offering a light smile. "My, what a charming woman."

The woman blinked and smiled, a light blush coming to her cheeks.

"Tell me, miss," Sanji began, idly noticing that the Marine was getting upset. He leaned a bit closer, making sure he wasn't lurking over her. "How would you like to sample my private stock? I've recently got some exotic fruit wine from the South Blue."

"Hey!" Fullbody erupted, smacking a hand on the table, slightly upsetting the tableware. He jabbed a finger at his soup. "What kind of third-rate dive serves soup with bugs?!"

"Bugs?" Sanji echoed, giving an internal flail at the mention of bugs. He looked carefully at the soup, blinking at the fly floating in the soup.

"What's this fly doing in my soup?!" Sanji noticed the other customers were paying attention. ' _Wanting some lunchtime drama, I suppose… May as well add to it.'_

"Forgive me, Monsieur…" he spoke lightly around his cigarette. "I could be wrong, but it appears to be the backstroke."

He let a clueless smile slide onto his face, carefully smoothing down the front of his suit. The other customers were laughing and the date was even giggling slightly.

 _ **BANG!**_ **Crack!**

"EEEEK!"

Sanji lost his smile as Fullbody slammed his fist into the table, breaking it and sending everything on it to the ground. The wine glasses and bowls were broken, spilling out on the floor. Absently, in the back of Sanji's mind, he was swearing over the price of the replacements they'd have to buy. The woman had shot out of her seat, staring in shock at the mess.

"You have no clue who you're messing with," Fullbody said lowly, his eyes narrowed at Sanji in an intimidating manner.

The blond ignored it though, having earned more dark looks from Zeff to be affected. His blue eyes were locked on the wasted soup. Said eyes lingered for a long moment on the fly floating aimlessly in the soup. The sight of wasted food filled Sanji with a cold fury ( _memories of nights of being stuck on a rock, seeing Zeff, a tall, broad man scrawny and bony from starvation, missing a leg -_ _ **No**_ _, it's been years, Sanji, Zeff is_ _fine_ _, just_ _ **breathe**_ _-_ ).

He took a breath in, releasing it and taking a deeper one in, slowly removing the cigarette from his lips. Sanji let his eyes rove towards the Marine. He let Rain flames come from his finger, dowsing the burning cigarette before letting Storm flames disintegrate it. Cold eyes settled on Fullbody. The man was staring at his flames with wide eyes.

"Ya know," Sanji began in a soft, light tone. "If you'd just removed the bug, you could've _eaten_ that soup."

Fullbody bristled, lifting his hands up and forming fists. "What?! I am a _CUSTOMER_! How dare you take that attitude- You're just a lowly cook!"

"Stop it, Fullbody!" The woman cried, hands fisting her dress as she gazed between the two men. "Let it go!"

Sanji, though it pained him a bit, ignored the woman and began a slow walk towards Fullbody. "Does money make up for lack of courage?"

Not waiting for an answer, Sanji _moved_.

A bit later, he was holding Fullbody up by his jaw. "To offend a cook at sea is asking to meet Death. Remember that." A vein on his forehead throbbed and he glowered at the Marine, clenching his fingers tighter around the man's jaw. "And food must **never** be wasted."

"Again, Sanji?!" Sanji let the glower drop as he turned his head to Patty, who was staring and pointing at him angrily. "What're ya doin' to dat customah? A naval officah at dat!"

Sanji blinked at him, wishing for another cigarette. "Hey, shitty cook. Say my name with the proper address."

"How dare ya call me 'shitty cook,' ya shitty server!" Patty snapped back, huffing, before waving his arms around. "Customahs are da life's blood of a restaurant! So why's his leachin' outta him?! 'Splain yerself!"

Sanji dropped the Marine, letting Storm flames appear around his hand to get rid of the blood as he walked over to Patty. He tugged out a cigarette, lighting it as he paused beside the other cook. His brow went up. "Customer? The shithead wasted precious food and insulted the other cooks. I simply taught him differently."

"Th-this place stinks!" Was wheezed out and the coworkers looked at Fullbody in slight surprise. "The food's full of bugs... the service's horrible… I'll inform the authorities and see you closed down! A restaurant shouldn't-"

"Oh ho?" Sanji cut him off, tilting his head and shading his eyes. "Close us down?" A slight, dangerous smile slid onto his face. "Not if I close you down first, Jabjong." (1)

Fullbody's eyes widened and he shrank backwards. "What..? What?!"

"Don't do it, Sanji!" Came from behind and arms and legs were winding around his limbs as he strained to go forward.

His smile dropped as he scowled and glared at the Marine. "Now I'm really pissed!"

"Hold him or the Lieutenant's dead man!"

"Get off!" Sanji snarled at the three, digging an elbow into one of their sides. "I can't stand ignorant snobs like him!"

"Ow! Cool down, Sanji!"

Eyes shifting, Sanji growled lightly. "I'll get you, big shot!"

"Eeek…!" Fullbody shrank back fully at Sanji's expression.

 _ **Crack!**_ **Bam!**

"AAAAAAHH!"

Still straining against the cooks holding him, Sanji let his eyes flicker over to where Zeff and another person had just dropped through the ceiling. 'Yet another thing coming from the old man's pocket. Guess it's a good thing we needed to call the shipwrights anyway.'

Brushing it off, he focused on the old man as the cooks restraining Sanji called for him. "Chef, you've gotta stop Sanji!"

Sanji promptly shoved the man who yelled that in a backbend and raised his elbow to dig it into a man's upper ribcage. He blinked casually at the old man.

Zeff was looking at him, unimpressed, as he stood in front of the blond. "Attacking clients again, Little Eggplant?"

"Shove it, Shitty Geezer."

"He sure is!" Patty said. "An' dis one's a Lieutenant!"

 _ **Thwack!**_ "Do you want to ruin me?!"

Sanji staggered backwards, the cooks releasing him right before Zeff kicked him. He rubbed his face with a slight scowl, holding his cigarette as Sun flames washed over his cheek on instinct. He let out a small, "Oww…"

"Hey!" A loud, childish voice cut in, catching their attention. Sanji stared at the strawhat-wearing raven in confusion. "I know that guy! He's the cannon guy!"

' _Cannon?'_ Sanji wondered, putting his cigarette to his mouth. 'That's _what it was earlier?'_

 _ **Thwack!**_ "You get out of here, too!"

Sanji couldn't help the miffed expression that slid onto his face. ' _Why does he get to hit him? I wanted to.'_

"Da customah's king, got dat?" Patty snapped at Sanji.

He rolled his eyes, taking a drag and blowing it in his face. "Only if they're willing to eat your slop."

A growl from the right and they glanced at Zeff. "Sanji, Patty, if you're gonna fight, take it to the kitchen!"

"No way!" They snapped and glowered at each other.

There was a clatter at the entrance. Collectively, heads turned to look.

"Lieutenant Fullbody… I-it's terrible!" The bloodied Marine gasped. "I'm sorry, sir, b-but he got away from the ship's brig!"

The strange teen huffed. "This is a madhouse…"

(Patty and Sanji twitched. The older cook glanced at Sanji, who was already forming a Mist wooden spatula. The cook caught it and smacked the hatted teen with it, earning a startled noise.

He blinked at the twin glares.

"Only we can call this (dis) place a madhouse!" They hissed at him in unison.

The stranger could only blink while Zeff coughed, hiding a chuckle.)

"The pirate of Krieg's crew escaped!" The Marine exclaimed, face set in a panicked expression. "We went to question him, but he beat us and got away!"

"Impossible!" Fullbody exclaimed, staring hard at the man. "When we captured him, he was half dead from starvation and we haven't fed him since!"

The customers exploded in panic, some even racing toward exits, avoiding the main entrance. Sanji, frowning around his cigarette, glanced at Zeff, his bare eyebrow raised. Zeff simply shook his head. Sanji nodded, turning his head forward to keep an eye on the entrance.

 **Bang**

Sanji blinked in surprise before wincing faintly as the Marine collapsed, blood spreading from the gunshot wound. He breathed in sharply before letting it out. Customers were yelling and fleeing even faster, those by the entrance frozen.

"Customah, party of one," Patty noted dryly.

"He'd better not bust up my restaurant," Zeff growled beneath his breath.

"A pirate!" Sanji stared weirdly at the straw-hatted teen.

Blowing out a breath, Sanji eyed the Krieg pirate as he walked into the Baratie. The pirate took over an empty table and Sanji rubbed his forehead as Patty walked over to him. He absently ignored their banter as he ran foods through his mind. There was a crash and loud cheer from the customers. Eyes flicking over, he saw Patty had hit the customer, breaking the chair. His lip curled as he saw Patty beating the customer. Sanji looked at Zeff before shrugging to himself and turned, walking towards the kitchen. ' _Miso soup, I think, and maybe plain rice… wonder if the_ _entremetier has some cooked already.'_

Humming absently, Sanji slipped into the kitchen and slid through the bustle with years of experience. A flare of Mist and there was a bubble around his cigarette, preventing ash and smoke from filling the kitchen. He paused by the shelves containing the dishware. Plucking a small bowl, regular cup, and regular plate, and a spoon from the drawer, Sanji headed over to the middle of the kitchen, where the entrees were typically cooked.

"Got any spare miso and rice?" Sanji asked, balancing the plate carefully as he filled the cup with fresh water from a pitcher.

The brunet cooking looked at him curiously before nodding. "Comin' from your own pocket?"

"Mmm." Was all Sanji let out.

The man ladling out soup shook his head with a slight smile. "Methinks you're getting even softer, little boss."

"Don't tell anyone, wouldn't want my rep ruined." Sanji retorted dryly, sharing a smirk with the prepper.

"Never."

Sanji settled the plate on his arm, more Mist coming out to wrap protectively around it as he went out the side exit of the kitchen. Spotting the pirate on the ground (Patty must have tossed him there, Sanji figured), he dropped the napkin he'd snagged on the way out over the man's head. Ignoring the startled noise he got, Sanji carefully set the plate and cup down, sticking the spoon in the rice.

Walking a few steps away, Sanji said, "Eat slowly."

There was a stomach growl and Sanji glanced over when he heard the sound of chewing. He rolled his eyes when he saw the man was practically inhaling it. Letting Mist change into a sponge, he let it bop the man in the head, earning a startled look, which he returned with a flat look. "If you continue eating fast and make yourself sick, I'll punt you."

The pirate blinked but nodded, returning to his food. "Thank you…" Sanji heard quietly as he let his head rest on the rail, eyes closed under the sun. "I thought I was a dead man."

There was the faint sound of breath hitching and Sanji smirked slightly around his cigarette, a feeling of contentment rushing through him. "Good, yeah?" He didn't get a response, not really expecting one as they sat in silence.

"Aha!"

At least, until a voice broke it.

Sanji scowled as his eyes opened and let them move up, landing on a figure on the second floor. It was the teen from before. Out of the corner of his eye, Sanji saw the pirate had looked up as well.

"I've found you!" It was stated with glee and a bright, almost shining grin. "My cook!"

Sanji could only blink as there was something tugging at him about the teen. ' _What the hell?'_

* * *

(1) Jabjong - Korean for bastard.


End file.
